The European countryside is changing rapidly. In many regions agriculture has lost its central role in the rural economy. Many farm households supplement their incomes with other activities and employment opportunities in agriculture are continually diminishing. Changing agricultural practices (intensification in some areas, abandonment in others) place valued landscapes, habitats and cultural traditions under threat. Many farmers and other rural entrepreneurs are exploring new ways of using their resources to counter these problems. Innovative activities such as agri-tourism, quality production, nature & landscape management or organic farming are emerging as responses to the ongoing cost/price squeeze in 'productivist' agriculture. Local development agencies, national governments and the EU are developing policies designed to support (and sometimes regulate) these new activities.